Siddaramaiah with seers Chandrashekaranatha Swami (left).
Credit: DH Photo/B K Janardhan
Bengaluru: With the Waqf row still simmering in the state, a Vokkaliga seer on Tuesday called for disenfranchising Muslims to end votebank politics in India.
The divisive comment by Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swami came at a protest organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, a farmers’ organisation with political links to the RSS, over farmers’ lands being marked as Waqf properties.
“Politicians are doing this for votes...Muslims should be deprived of voting powers. This must be definitely done,” the seer said, adding that ending ‘votebank politics’ would help India prosper.
The seer heads the Vishwa Vokkaliga Mahasamsthana Mutt, whose formation was backed by JD(S) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.
Kumara Chandrashekaranatha Swami cited the example of Pakistan. “In Pakistan, others don’t have the power to vote. If the same is done in India, then (Muslims) will be by themselves and everyone can live in peace,” he said.
The seer targeted the Waqf Board, saying it was “unnecessarily snatching properties against the law”.
“It is not dharma to snatch someone else’s property. We must see to it that there’s no Waqf Board,” the seer said. “Even if the government falls, farmers must be protected. Farmers’ lands must remain with them.”
The seer also lamented the killing of “innocent Hindus” in Bangladesh.
While there was no reaction from the ruling Congress, expelled JD(S) leader CM Ibrahim said the seer should not have made such comments.
Ibrahim pointed out that the Vishwa Vokkaliga Mahasamsthana Mutt was birthed by Deve Gowda.
“In 1995, Gowda contested from Ramanagara. He got only 40% Vokkaliga votes. He won because 32,000 Muslims voted for him,” he said. “And, what is it that Muslims are getting with voting rights anyway? We are the ones that get abused and beaten.”
Questioning the Congress contribution to Muslims, Ibrahim said: “After 70 years, we (Muslims) still sell cucumbers, and we’re still seen as those who repair tire punctures. We just want to live peacefully.”
Ibrahim also quipped that the BJP will be “finished” if Muslims lose voting rights. “The BJP has been doing its politics by demonising us. If Muslims don’t have voting rights, then politics will happen on gotras. Then, it’ll be Das Vokkaligas, Gangatkar Vokkaligas, Marasu Vokkaligas and so on,” he said.